The president of Ohio State University on Wednesday lamented that publicity over a football scandal overshadowed the university's many accomplishments last year, then drew more unwelcome attention when he compared the job of coordinating several university divisions to "the Polish army."

In a speech at a downtown athletic club, Gordon Gee called the scandal's disproportional weight "a monumental shame."

"To subordinate the ingenuity of so many to the impropriety of a few seems to me an unjust proposition," Gee said. "In truth, a series of unfortunate events in our athletics program has masked a remarkable year at Ohio State."

The NCAA said last month that the Ohio State football team and new coach Urban Meyer will be banned from a bowl game after next season. The university also forfeited its 2010 season, including a Sugar Bowl win. The punishment followed a scandal in which players sold football memorabilia or traded them for tattoos.